A few days ago, there was a big buzz in the media over Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda when he won a silver in Men’s High Jump event at the London Paralympics 2012. Would Girisha have earned the same recognition had he ended up in fourth? Would that have meant that he had put in any less effort? You can be pretty sure that he would have remained an unknown face, had be been a non-medalist.

That is the true state of sports in India.

Girisha was funded by Samarthanam, an NGO for the disabled. Thanks to the thoughtfulness of this organisation, India was able to give shape to the dreams of a poor, disabled man. While the story of Girisha is now well known all over India, there are many more such athletes (not only disabled) all over India, who are not able to gain access to good training facilities. Nutrition and mentoring are a far cry.

It’s our firm belief that when we cannot encourage talent in sport, we should refrain from criticising performances. When we expect performance, we need to back our sportsmen all the way. The greatness of a patron is not only in his generosity. It’s his faith in the effort and his respect for the hard-work of a “nobody” who aims to be a ‘somebody’ someday. It’s this quality in a patron that truly needs to be appreciated. People view success in terms of medals, true patrons fund the effort and not the medal, medals are just the icing on the cake.

One such athlete who hails from a poor financial background is Veeraiah Hiremath. It was a pleasant weekday morning when we met Veeraiah while he was training at the runners track at SAI Bangalore. We got to know about Veeraiah’s case from a local daily that had carried his article. We at SportsKeeda, as always, were determined to know more and see how we all could make a positive impact on Indian sports. Our mission was simple. As we consider sports-fans to be all powerful, all we needed to do, was to fan the ‘fan-power’.

Veeraiah hails from a small village called Timmapura in Raichur District, Karnataka. During our chat, we got to know that due to the lack of awareness about opportunities in sport, his family never encouraged him to take marathon-running seriously. Instead he was chided for wasting his time and was entrusted with domestic chores. On being asked as to why he did not apply for a job under sports-quota, Veeraiah told us that he became aware of the “sports-quota” only after crossing the eligibility age. No one in his village ever knew that sports could fetch a job!

He came to Bangalore  in 2008  and trained by himself till he was discovered by coach J.S Bhatia, who brought him to the S.A.I. in July 2010. Veeraiah showed a drastic improvement in his timing (from 3:15:00 to 2:41:10) when he stood fourth (among Indian elite athletes) at the Sabarmati International Marathon in December 2010. His latest timing was 2:48:00 in July 2012 (he was carrying an injury at the time).

The road to Rio is very clear. He needs to train under a professional coach, Mr. Bernard, in Kenya (Veeraiah feels he needs the guidance of coaches who have been there and done that) at least for a year. He needs to get his timing to 2:30:00 to qualify for the Stan-Chartered International Marathon in Jan 2014. A first place here can see him going into the Commonwealth Games and subsequently the Asian Games. “Give me one year of training and I will give you the best results” Veeraiah pleads with us.

Here are a few ways where you can help Veeraiah who needs at least Rs. 10 lakhs for his training over the next four years.

A. In case you want to make a monetary contribution, you can fill a simple form (link below) so that the details will be made available to those who are genuinely interested in contributing to this noble cause.

https://docs.google.com/a/sportskeeda.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFYxc1U1aHdOWk5KaVBtZzZrdU5BTnc6MQ

B. You can visit SAI Bangalore on a weekday morning (6 am -1 0 am), see him train and give him some words of encouragement.

It would be amazing to see Veeraiah make it to Rio and have the satisfaction of having helped a fellow countryman realise the dreams of millions.

Matthew Hayden retired from international cricket in 2009 and 3 years later, after stints in Indian Premier League and Big Bash League, he has now decided to retire from all forms of the game he once dominated.

At the mention of Mathew Hayden’s name, the first thing that comes to mind is the 2001 Australian tour of India. The picture of this muscle-man going down on his left knee and sweeping the Indian spinners from all possible lines and lengths during the epic series, is still fresh in the mind. While every Aussie batsman on that tour struggled to negotiate Harbhajan’s turn and bounce, it was Hayden who had sorted out his technique against the spinners. He had a definite strategy that saw him score 549 runs in those three matches and end up as the highest scorer (an Australian record).

In  his autobiography, Hayden familiarizes us with his human side. If he hadn’t done that, the world would have never known that this bully at short-leg, who would sledge the likes of Graeme Smith (a giant himself), had a softer side. With all humility he accepts, that he too, at many stages in his career, had self-doubts, and wondered if he was good enough to be at the Test level. On one occasion, he recounts how his mind kept wandering in the alleys of  low self-confidence, while Curtley Ambrose – the raging bull – came charging in his run-up to bowl at him during his initial days of Test cricket. Apparently, Hayden, in his heart, prayed that it would be better for him to get out caught rather than face the embarrassment of getting clean bowled yet again by the great West Indian fast bowler, who had terrorised the Aussies on that particular tour in 1996. Could anyone imagine that it was this that actually went on in the mind of a batsman who ended up with an average of 50.73 in Test matches!

Poor Hayden was never the captain’s favorite. Mark Taylor, the then Aussie captain, always favoured the other Matthew, Matthew Elliot, over Hayden. Although Hayden had scored loads of runs for Queensland, the burden of living up to the expectations of his mates and the tag of not being the skipper’s favourite frequently got the better of him initially. However, after a decent performance in the tour of New Zealand, Hayden got a chance to open the batting in Australia’s 2001 tour to India and this time it was Steve Waugh, the skipper, who backed him to the fullest. He got a match-winning 119 in the first Test at Mumbai, which is often referred to as the “turning” point in his career.

From then on, there was no looking back. There were a few of the odd blips down the lane, but in the end, Matt Hayden had scored enough runs to be rated as one of Australia’s best opening batsmen ever. Hayden broke many batting records in his career. From having the highest score in an innings (380, which Lara surpassed to regain his record) in Tests, to having scored more than 1000 runs in five successive years of international cricket, Haydos did it all. He even held the highest individual ODI score for Australia till Shane Watson broke his record. Apart from his individual brilliance, his association with Justin Langer at the top of the batting order remains second best only to the legendary Greenidge-Haynes pair. The Aussie duo’s (who were quite the opposite in their physical appearance) solid opening partnerships saw their team win many matches and forge a life-long friendship between them.

In one interview, Hayden discloses how he decoded the bowler’s strategy just by having a look at the field setting. He knew exactly what the bowler was up to and what to expect, which explains his customary squatting at the crease and looking around before taking his stance. This was the extent to which he prepared for every challenge. It was no surprise to see a focused Hayden go to the center and do a little batting simulation before every match. There were many occasions when he used to just meditate beside the square, breathe the air, feel the green and sink into the atmosphere, so as to get accustomed to the conditions well before his turn of batting. No wonder this Queenslander had all the mental strength in him to come back from the dead every time he was written off.

Hayden’s batting style changed the face of Test cricket. In a game where the opener needed to see the shine off the ball, Hayden hit the leather off it. He set the trend of going at more than 4.5 runs per over in Test matches (sometimes even more), a trend that brought in more crowds. He was equally adept at leaving the balls outside the off, thus making it very difficult for the bowlers, who could neither get his wicket nor keep the run rate down. He can easily be called the “Viv Richards” among the Test openers.

Be it batting or fielding, the one thing that highlighted Hayden’s career was his attitude and team-manship. The joy of watching his batting partner’s success was all too evident when he lifted Langer in the air, whenever he (Langer) reached a personal milestone. He would back his bowlers by literally getting under the opposition’s skin at short-leg. His slip catching was top drawer; seldom would he drop a catch. He would walk down the track to the fast bowlers, give the ball a clean slap and show the pacers their place.

Arrogance, patience, power, timing, strategy and grit were all packed into this burly unit called Mathew Hayden, who never took a step back whenever a challenge was thrown at him.

With the increased interest of the general population in participating in various marathons which are being conducted across the world, we at Sportskeeda were keen to provide our readers with some valuable tips on preparing for the next such challenge.

While on the look out for some expert advise on long distance running, we struck ‘gold’ when we got an opportunity to meet and chat with Veeraiah Hiremath along the tracks of the Sports Authority of India, Bangalore. Veeraiah, who is not yet a big name in marathon running, finished fourth (among elite-Indian runners) at the Sabarmati International Marathon, held at Ahmedabad in 2010. It was no mean effort, as this marathon saw the participation of many international runners (Veeraiah stood 13^th overall by finishing it in 2hrs: 41min: 10secs).

You might be inquisitive as to why we chose Veeraiah, who is not very well known, to guide us in this regard. Well, it’s because he has risen to the level of a pro-athlete today from being just another average person like you and me till the age of 27. He never trained like a pro-athlete, never had a coach due to a lack of awareness, guidance and monetary resources. This humble man from Timmapura village in Raichur, Karnataka came to Bangalore in 2008 and started training all by himself at the Sr.Kanteerava Stadium. Apparently he was shown the door by a few prospective coaches when he failed to pay the full fees initially.

The energy that this man exudes is simply overwhelming. He attributed his toughness to the stint he had luckily with the ASC athletes who used to train at Kanteerava. His poverty and the inability to arrange for a coach was a blessing in disguise he says, as the army men allowed him to train alongside them. Veeraiah learned a lot about the tricks of his trade; what better coach than the army?

Well, we couldn’t hold ourselves back anymore and started shooting questions at the pro, who was all too keen to share his knowledge and experience with us and give us a few tips on “How to prepare for a marathon”. Following are a few excerpts  from the INTERVIEW:

Firstly, please tell us, who can run a marathon? Is there a particular body type, background?

Marathon running is all about will-power and a burning desire to succeed. Anbody with these attributes can run a marathon. It’s more about attitude. Haven’t we seen so many amateur runners finish the marathon? It’s actually a tougher task they achieve when  compared to the elite, as they run for a longer duration than the elite.

What are the benefits of marathon-running?

Long distance running brings about positivity and helps fight depression. It gives you a lot of self-belief and confidence that tends to rub-off on other aspects of one’s life. I myself have given training tips to people with ailments, who have then successfully been able to run long distances and even reduce their dependency on medication.

How does one assess himself/herself with regard to their ability?

See, everybody needs to understand their body and capability. This happens when you constantly observe your performance while training (over a period of a few months). Depending on that one can decide to run 10 kms, the half marathon or the full marathon.

Does age matter?

No, definitely not. I am 34 years old and seriously training to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. In 2008, a Romanian woman-athlete named Constantina Dita won a gold in the Beijing olympics at the age of 37. She is my inspiration. I want to get to the Rio Olympics and show everybody that nothing is impossible!

Tell us about the hydration requirement during training.

I drink a minimum of 6-7 litres of water on training days. Again, the intake-intervals are very important. I take a few sips of water at the completion of evry 2kms of running. The importance of drinking water early in the morning on an empty stomach is very useful on training days as it aids in throwing out the waste and toxins from our system, resulting in the body feeling light and energetic.

Please tell us about the diet to be followed on training days.

My mantra is simple – “Eat, drink (water) and burn it”. Eat 2 bananas at least two hours before training. Post training eat dry-fruits, fruits, sprouts and raw vegetables. Do not ignore rice and milk products, they are as important as chapati and roti in your diet. The key is to maintain a balance and not over-do anything.

How about supplements? Is it compulsory to take them?

I do not believe in taking suppliments. It’s meant for athletes who do not have access to nutritious  food during training.

Well, then how do the vegetarians get their protein intake?

I am a vegetarian myself. I include all kinds of sprouts in my diet. It’s a myth that vegetarians cannot run marathons successfully. I am a living example of a successful vegetarian-runner.

Coming to the actual ‘running’ part of the marathon, any specific methods to follow?

Ensure that it’s a gradually progressive training program, never be in a hurry to get to the next level or skip a level. You can start-off with a one kilometer run and slowly progress. You know your body the best and adhere to your natural instincts. Observe and apply. Never compare yourself with others.

A minimum 20 minute warm–up is compulsory before starting a training session. You can compare it to a “cold-start” problem in a vehicle. The body needs to be warm and the muscles well stretched to endure a strenuous training session.

What about the “fatigue” factor? How can one overcome it?

Fatigue may be caused due to wrong breathing technique. Contrary to the popular belief that we should breathe only through the nose, it’s absolutely okay to breathe through your mouth when you feel like. Breathing techniques like Sudarshankriya and pranayam help in opening-out the lungs and increase the lung-capacity.

Last but not the least, the question about injury, injury prevention and cool down exercises.

Usually it’s the ankle ligaments, glutes, ham-string, Quadriceps and the calf-muscles that are prone to injuries during long-distance running. That’s why it’s important to stretch these lower body muscles thoroughly during warm up. The cool-down excersises post-training are as important as the warm up stretches. Distance running causes increased blood circulation to the lower body, resulting in varicose veins in the long-term. This can be avoided by regulating the blood circulation throughout the body by performing the “shirasasana” (standing upside down) and shavasana at the very end of all training sessions.

Thank you so much for sharing these vital tips. Can our readers contact you in case they need further guidance?

Surely, I’d be more than happy to help. I undertake training sessions for nominal rates. People who are enthusiatic about running can contact me on +91 -9590981865 or  veeraiah_hm@yahoo.com

While making our way out of the SAI stadium, we had goose bumps while picturing the fact that this humble man we met today, might be the next “Girisha” of Indian athletics and could well be representing our country at Rio Olympics 2016.

To steal the show from Rossi at San Marino during the last lap while pursuing his quest for a podium finish, spoke volumes about Dovizioso’s  performance, which  gave Bautista a real scare, till the very last second of the race.
The Monster-Yamaha racer fell frustratingly’ a fraction of a second’ short of winning the podium place, which the Spaniard  Bautista held on to with his dear life. It was heartening to see a ‘ faint smile’  on the face of Dovisioso, who seemed to have resigned to his fate despite the herculean effort towards the end. The commentators empathized with Dovisioso, but felt it was too little coming too late. Dani Pedrosa was unlucky to crash out in the fist lap, pushing the Championship chances further away from him, while immediate competitor Lorenzo sealed the GP with a hands-down win.
Overall, it was a great day for MotoGP. A day which had all the action , a day which will go down in the history books, as the day when the legend called Rossi rose from the dead and lived up to the expectations of his fans and got their moneys worth.

Every bowler who has played a considerable amount of test cricket, over a period of time, takes a liking to bowl to at least one batsman (amongst the hundreds in the opposition that he bowls to) during his stint at the International level. Such batsmen, who somehow seem to find ways of getting out to the same bowler, are tamely named as the ‘bunny’ by the merciless commentators.

Zaheer had a knack of taking Graeme Smith every time he bowled at him. Same was the case with Glenn McGrath and Mike Artherton, the former being the tormentor and the latter, the hapless ‘bunny’. It’s a huge mental barrier for the batsman to overcome and a psychological advantage for the bowler over his opponent.

In the entire cricketing history, there is one bowler who was equipped like an army, when it came to his trade: leg-spin. He had all the weapons in his armory, all the  variations that a leggie could ask for. In fact, he had a surprise bouncer as well, that could put any pacer to shame. This was one man who could vary the leg-spin in degrees. It would range from spin, little spin, little more spin, ripper to the square turner. Now, what can you say about a leg spinner who has variations in leg-spin, apart from the traditional googly, the dreaded flipper, the camouflaged slider and the top spinner? Well, the name’s Warne, Shane Warne!

Enter Shane Warne and you won’t be surprised to see that half the pool of international batsmen actually turn into bunnies instantly. Alec Stewart and almost every other batsman who faced Warne have struggled to keep the wizard of leg spin at bay. As such, when you are given the tough task of deciding Warney’s ‘ no.1′ bunny, it ends up as a clash between many, such was the magic of this leggie.

It wasn’t always Warne’s ability as a leg-spinner that foxed the batsmen most times. It was more to do with how he set-up his prospective victims  for the kill. Ian Bell, a solid batsman, makes for an interesting study in relation to this topic. He was the ‘blue- eyed’ boy of English cricket and was seen as a test prospect while he was in his teens playing for the U-19 team. As a batsman who was equipped with good technique,  he was known to be one of the better players of spin in the  English camp.

One particular match that comes to mind, with regard to the’ bunny’ being set up, is the 1st test match of  The Ashes 2005 – when Bell was a new-comer to the England team. Warne had polished off Marcus Trescothick, the opening batsman, with a good tweak and subsequently Bell had arrived at the crease . It was obvious that the wicket was taking some turn and Warne was on top of his game.

With the first ball that he bowled to Bell, Warney turned the ball square from off stump to very wide of off, demonstrating the amount of turn, as if to let Bell know and drive in the fact that the pitch was turning square. The innocent Bell mentally prepared himself for negotiating the turners for the rest of the day. Little did he suspect what the wily old fox was up to. After bowling a few sighters and flighted balls (to give Bell a false sense of confidence), Warne sent a slider down the pitch with no apparent change in action or wrist position (we’ve seen this video in slow-mo and still couldn’t figure it out) that thudded into the pads of the unsuspecting Bell who had gotten into a ‘leave it alone’ position, thinking it would grip and turn.

Before he knew what was happening, the poor Bell was sent packing, back to the hut in disbelief . Well, it wasn’t the first time that Warne rang the “bell”. He had made the ‘best of the best’ see stars in broad-daylight. It was just that he took a fancy to ring the ‘bell’ more often, just to keep the crowds awake on long ‘test-match’ days. He did this with great efficiency all through his career. We have seen the most skilled bowlers struggle in test matches, mainly due to the sheer physical and mental demands of the format. Warne’s career stands as a testimonial to the fact that a few battles were actually won in the minds than in the actual battlefield.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/17/when-warnie-rang-the-bell/feed/ 0 040183 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/13/media-fans-fan-power/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/13/media-fans-fan-power/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:31:53 +0000 ameetsn http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=722034

In India, there have been many achievements in sports that have gone un-recognised in the past. It’s only when the media brings it to public notice that the concerned officials make a note of it and put in some kind of efforts to reward such accomplishments. It would have been ideal if these ‘concerned officials’ took initiatives in such issues as a matter of pride, rather than making last minute arrangements just to save their image in public eye.

India has never been a sports-oriented country. Seldom do we come across parents encouraging their wards to take up sports as a profession, despite a few kids showing a lot of promise at an early age. In a world where we believe  ”charity begins at home”, it’s not surprising to see the apathy of the common man and the high-handedness of the politicians in taking a back-seat when it comes to encouraging and recognising sporting talent at the international/national/state level, by way of rewards and public celebrations, as it is never been in the culture at a house-hold level.

However, there is always an exception to every established order (read disorder). There is always an eager sports-fan, a patriot or a good-samaritan round the corner, who it seems, has vowed not to let any accomplishment fade away or any budding talent go waste, without allowing it to bask  in its share of glory. Sometimes the manifestation of  the qualities of an ardent fan, the patriot and the good samaritan can be seen in the media, in  institutions or in some cases, in rare-individuals.

This phenomenon was once again evident during this week  when we happened to come across a few newspaper articles about two sports personalities of Karnataka. One was about the recent Paralympic Games Silver medal winner Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda and the other was about one Ms. Byramma, a record-breaking swimmer. The only difference in the articles about these two personalities was the different eras in which these sports-personalities  had showcased their accomplishments (a gap of eighty years).

While Girisha won the silver medal in the current 2012 Paralympic games, Byramma broke the world record when she swam non-stop for 18 hours in the Kempambudhi lake in Bangalore, as a four year old girl, in the 1930s. Apparently her achievement had been witnessed by the then Dewan of Mysore Sri. Mirza Ismail.

The media constantly kept a tab on Girisha’s progress and success at the Paralympics. Even before his neighbours knew about his achievement at the international level, the Indian (Olympic/Paralympic) team fans were celebrating his success across the country. The otherwise insensitive officials were already on their toes to felicitate and reward this talented boy whose achievement was not even known to the people of his own village yet!

In Byramma’s case it was the efforts of Sri. V.Somashekar, a senior citizen (70 years of age) from Bangalore, which reminded India and the whole world about this ‘lost-wonder’ whose fame had spread to the U.S and the U.K like wild-fire in the 1930s when she broke the swimming record. If not for the selfless struggle of this retired wireman, the world wouldn’t have had a clue about this ‘wonder girl’ from India. In fact the very lake in which the record was broken doesn’t exist today (weed infested and polluted). Again, the journalist who respected  V. Somashekar for his pain-staking efforts of collecting and recording details of Byramma (he had to literally scan each gully of old-Bangalore to get hold of a picture of Byramma) over a period of five years has to be applauded.

The contributions of individuals like Ramakanth Archrekar (Tendulkar’s mentor), Shetty Chandra (a local club team secretary who supported G.R. Vishwanath all through his formative years) have made sure that India was not deprived of legends. There have always been a few dedicated journalists and correspondents who’ve never let down the country’s sporting heroes, and a few organisations like OGQ that have relentlessly backed talent in pursuit of Gold medals.

All thanks to such individuals and institutions that the small lamp of ‘sporting culture’ in India continues to burn bright. Fan power has a huge impact. It’s upto the media to continue to fan the’ fan- power’, which gives a ray of hope for the future generations of sportsmen in India .

” Men and women alike were awe-struck, indulging in a silent prayer within their hearts, every time they saw those lean men on their mean-machines, shift their rears on the seat while taking their babies for a bender at the dangerous but inviting curves, their knee kissing  the tarmac with every slight  difference in the angles”- is definitely not an excerpt from some fictional piece of writing, but a normal description of the emotions on an enthusiastic Moto GP spectator’s face, on any given race day.

Be it the GP venue or  the comfort of their homes from where they indulge in watching the gripping action, this is one emotion which is common to all hardcore  Moto GP fans. The combined emotion of fear, thrill, apprehension, cheer and adrenalin rush which more often than not sends a chill down the spine. It’s a sport that still continues to fascinate everyone, from a school boy to an adult. It brings out the boyish fascination for danger and bravado in grown men, while it enthralls  small boys who want to grow up in a hurry and rest their behinds on the seat and tame one of these beasts. It’s a world of  ” Speed thrills but sometimes kills”. Welcome to the world of Moto GP, a stage for the courageous and the skilled.

Although the ‘danger to life’ factor exists in all types of motor sports, bike racers somehow seem to be more vulnerable than their counterparts in other motor sports. The speeds at which the 990cc engines operate makes the sport even more dangerous, especially because Moto GP  bikers, unlike the F1 or the other four-wheel racers, do not enjoy the luxury of a second line of protection. One wrong move (as in all cases) and the rider can find himself stranded like a ‘sitting-duck’  on the tarmac, waiting to be taken down by one of the other screamers.

Indeed it’s one of those rare  sports where the spectator and the performer both need to be brave-hearts. We have all heard of nail-biting finishes, but with Moto GP , the nail-biting starts right-away, seeing the nervous smiles on the bikers’ faces at the grid, even before the race starts.

It’s common in any sport to associate certain strokes, moves and strategies with certain players.  It is no different when it comes to the game of cricket. In the present age of the aggressive helicopter shot and the switch-hit, the more delicate strokes like the leg-glance, which is  the legacy of Ranjit Singhji, the original Prince of Indian cricket, could be easily forgotten. From the one-legged pull or the Nataraj(desi name) shot associated with Carribean players like Brian Lara, to the straight drive that Tendulkar is said to be a master of, the late-cut which is perceived to be Gundappa Vishwanath’s speciality to the Dil-scoops associated with T. Dilshan, every stroke in the book seems to have its perfect exponent. Simililarly, when it comes to the leg-glance, there is only one name, Ranjit Singhji, the inventor of the leg-glance,while the rest can be termed as  mere imitations.

Ranjith Singhji, who was an Indian prince, played most of his cricket in England, where he was pursuing his academics during the 1890′s. It was a time when racisim was very much prevalant and people had some strong views about the game. There were a few critics, like George Bernard Shaw who said cricket was a game played by twenty two players and watched by twenty two thousand fools. Also, there were the purists, who fancied the classic -playing in the ‘v’ approach to batting, and were totally averse to any game plan that deviated from the ‘old-school’. As such, Ranjit Singhji, although being a prince, had to face the critics, the racists and the purists in order to establish himself in the field of cricket on foreign soil.

It is interesting to know that ‘Ranji’ – as he was affectionately called by his team mates (or maybe they found it difficult to pronounce his full name), invented the’ leg glance’ while trying to overcome a defect in his technique against the pace bowlers. It is said that in order to rectify his habit of moving away from the ball, Ranjit Singhji used to tie his right leg to the ground while batting during practice sessions. In his attempt to get into the line of the ball and play late, he developed a habit of delicately  guiding the ball to fine leg, which evolved to be known as the “leg-glance”.

However, the purists termed this stroke as ‘un-orthodox’ and never appreciated it. The racists did not want to be taught how to play the ‘glance’  by an Indian. In this backdrop, it is totally appreciable that amidst all these negative vibes, Ranjit Singhji made his debut for the English Cricket team in 1896 against the visiting Australian team. He made  62 runs in the first innings and an unbeaten 154  in the second. Although England lost, Ranjit Singhji had shown the world his ability as a batsman and the power of the ‘leg-glance’ which is said to have caught the Aussies by surprise; they had no counter-strategy to encounter this ’new weapon’ in cricket.

If Ranjit Singhji were to play his cricket in this era, his innovative strokes and unorthodox play would have earned him a lot more appreciation and recognition than it did during his playing days. We would’ve heard the commentators praise the “Ranji Glance” every time it was been played by this man. Similarly, it would be interesting to imagine how a switch-hit or a scoop shot would be received by the spectators of those days. Such players would have probably lost their places in the team owing to their unpopular ways.

Today, the leg-glance apart, Ranjit Singhji’s memory is still kept alive in Indian cricket  by the BCCI. The all important Domestic tournament which breeds and recognises new talents is named after him.

The Ranji Trophy, as it is famously known.

When the ‘battery-low’ sign pops up on your monitor, it means it’s time for a recharge, unless you want to have an abrupt interruption in your all important work. Likewise, the Deccan chargers and the BCCI have apparently noticed the warning signs popping up on the ‘liability ‘screen and decided that it was time to recharge the DC team which seems to have carried their on-field ‘roller-coaster’ performance on to their off-field financial performance as well. The team which  has gone a ‘full circle’ from being highly rated initially and ending up last in the table, to being called under-dogs and winning the tournament in 2009, is now gearing up to face a similar situation off-field as well. The proud owners are now at sea, waiting to be saved from drowning in financial debt. Yes, you heard it right. The Hyderabadi IPL franchise is up for sale and the BCCI is in a hurry to proceed with the sale in order to keep this franchise alive for the 2013 IPL season, which, otherwise, is expected to burn a Rs.100 cr hole in the pockets of  the enterprising Indian cricket board.

Seldom does the normal cricket fan realise the enormity of the responsibility and financial burden that rests on the owners’ shoulders in owning an IPL franchise. The glamorous side of the IPL has always shown us the happy and enthusiastic faces of the team owners cheering their teams from their respective ‘Dug-outs’. The presence of bollywood beauties and other celebrities gives even more reason for the common man to perceive that the owners of the teams are nothing short of celebrities themselves and are having the time of their lives, mingling with the ‘heavy-weights’ of the entertainment industry and the super- elite. It’s a fantasy world, a manufactured dream, one that comes true sometimes and on some occasions turns into a nightmare for the unlucky few.

It’s only when the ugly side of being the owners of a loss-enduring franchise surfaces, that one realises IPL is not always a “They lived happily ever after”  fairy-tale. However, when it comes to the BCCI, nothing seems to shake them up. They seem to be immune to complicated situations and somehow, time and again, have wriggled out of tricky situations by doing a ‘Houdini act’. Just put them in a spot and the old-war horses in the BCCI administration get their act together, do a lot of brain storming and lo, the cheer-girls appear from nowhere and another season starts rolling!

The depth of the ‘Deccan- crisis’ is not very clear to the outsider. All that he, as a cricket fan, looks forward to is an exciting new-season of the IPL, so that he can get away from all the worldly routines and immerse himself in this show of ‘instant-kicks’. All he does is probably save up some money for the ticket or buy a new television/TV connection that promises to record all the matches, in case he misses any. It is for us to wait and see if the BCCI can re-work its magic and keep the show going. As for the Chargers, they did have their time under the sun, but probably with the sun going down on the franchise, it’s time to re-charge.

The New-Zealand cricket team, over the years, has always been an intriguing group (their wicket-keeper Adam Parore retired at the age of 30 while at his peak and climbed the Everest at the age of 40). An unconventional team that is never taken lightly by the heavy-weights, nor has it ever been tipped to win a major tournament by the bookies.  Unlike few international  teams that suffer with their catching and fielding despite having world- class batsmen and bowlers on board, the kiwis have never had  problems with their on-field skills. They have always  fielded a bunch of enthusiastic fielders who have turned matches on their heads by way of  their extreme athleticism and top-notch fielding skills.

The kiwis have always been pioneers when it came to on-field (and sometimes the off-field) experiments. In fact it was one of their players Mark Greatbatch who had  a pivotal role in what is termed as “taking advantage of the first fifteen overs” tactic , better known as belting the ball during ” power-play”  in today’s cricketing lingo. Their off-spinner  Dipak Patel, opening the bowling with the new ball in the 1992 World Cup is one of the most unforgettable ploys used in an ODI.

At one point there were reports that the kiwi batsmen would listen to the ‘noisy crowds’ on their head-phones while batting in the nets just so that they get used to the carnival atmosphere in Indian stadiums. As such their think-tank was always miles ahead when it came to the “out-of-the-box” thinking. Also, it’s their sporting culture that gives them a definite edge over the others.

Barring  a handful of players that includes the famous  all-rounder Sir. Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe and the more recent Cairns (Chris), Bonds and Vettories, the kiwi outfit has hardly had the luxury of playing any stars in their ranks. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. After the exit of Martin Crowe and a few other senior players like Greatbatch and the unsuccessful experiment with rookie Lee-Germon as Test Captain, Stephen Fleming took over the captaincy in 1997. If at all New-Zealand had some presence in international cricket between 1997-2007, a major chunk of the credit could be attributed to this man, who captained them in 3 world cups during his tenure.

Although it’s a little harsh to ignore the fact that Fleming scored more than 15000 international runs, it’s common notion that it was his contribution as a captain that mattered  more to the kiwis than his batting ability or his “as safe as a house” hands in slips. Fleming made sure that the team members gelled well and formed a tough unit.

At a point where the Australians were virtually unbeatable at home in the VB series, it was Fleming’s tactful field placings that saw the likes of accomplished batsmen like Damien Martyn, Steve Waugh, Michael Bevan returning to the hut like clueless-schoolboys surprised by pro-tactics. Under Fleming there was always precise game-plans, specific plans for each player in the opposition, some as simple as fielding two gullys for Damien Martyn, while bowling wide outside off, and holding on to those square-cuts that he usually played in the air, resulting in his fall (which would have been less likely with a single gully).

Given these positives, it’s a little hard to swallow that the New-zealanders haven’t had  much success at the highest level compared to their less endowed (atleast w.r.t. fielding) counterparts. Their lone big win till date was when they won the Champions Trophy in 1998. We have always wondered as to what this team of zealous players lacked, which resulted in ordinary performances. Chris Cairns, the genuine all-rounder, would’ve liked to do more justice to his talent. There were extraordinary fielders like Lou Vincent who would’ve wanted to contribute more with the bat, big hitters like Astle and Mc Milan who would’ve taken New  Zealand cricket to higher levels had they been more consistent and dependable.

So, where does New-Zealand cricket go from here ? We have seen a few of their youngsters perform at the recent U-19 World Cup, taking a few stunning catches and competing well. Probably they need to realize the importance of getting their basics right along with their unconventional tactics, in order to take New-Zealand cricket to new heights.

If  by any chance you had any doubts about Sachin Tendulkar‘s  popularity ( i.e. if you were born yesterday) , you can visit any school, anywhere in the whole of India and ask a class of students as to who wants to be “Sachin” when they grow up. You will not be surprised to see a majority of hands raised, with a beaming smile and a twinkle in the eye (although there is always the rare chess player, science freak,F1 and football fan who would say he/she hates cricket).

The name brings along with it numerous titles like  young-achiever, God of cricket, master-blaster, rich and famous celebrity, idol and many such adjectives, which entices every young Indian to dream of  being a “Sachin” someday. One true fact that we all know is that it takes a lot of effort to get to the place where Sachin shined on the International scene, for the first time . Yes, there is always a possibility that there may be another prodigy/player who can match his skill  and cricketing ability. However, this is actually not about how tough it is to get to the heights that Sachin reached two decades ago, but  its about ‘being Sachin’  and holding fort for more than two decades, which is the more difficult task.

What people do not realise is the burden of being “Sachin”. It’s not an easy act to carry off. Being under public scrutiny 24/7 for more than half of his life-time has takes it toll on Sachin. Simple things like walking in the park, family-outings, visiting theaters  has indeed become a luxury for him. Imagine the plight of a man who has managed to churn nearly 34000 international runs while being hounded constantly by fans and critics alike and being dogged by numerous injuries over the years.

All professionals have their share of privacy and family-space, which is not the case with Sachin. You might be a hard-working banker or a doctor, but you have your share of family time and privacy don’t you ? Imagine if  each unsuccessful trade of yours or every unsuccessful surgery at your hospital makes it to the headlines of all the leading daily’s across the country. Also, have you ever tried to  correlate the drop in the share prices of the company you work for, with the hard-work you put in each day? Why would you? You have done your bit, so why bother?

As a doctor,how would you feel if you are blamed for every death in the OT despite your best efforts? Well, you can always say that you did your duty and the rest was in God’s hands, but hey!  Sachin cannot get away, because he is God and he can’t give excuses. It’s your good fortune that the general population in India doesn’t understand much about surgeries or the high level trading that happens across stock exchanges.

Sachin’s dismissals in the recent matches is  a clear indicator of the constantly rising pressure that the poor man is put under. No, it’s not because of the age  that is said to be catching up with his game, it’s because of the breach of the levels of his tolerance, which is the reason for his recent poor show. How much can a man take, be it the pressure of maintaining appreciation or the impact of unfair criticism ? To be fair, this man has been a gem in not giving any excuses over the years, while constantly looking inwards for any room for improvement. There is no way that a Sachin Tendulkar with high levels of muscle memory ( comes with hundreds of hours of batting drills and simulations) would play all-over a straight ball and let it crash into his stumps . Well, he has always had a problem with the balls jagging back-in from length (but definitely not that straight ball), but hasn’t the little man masked it wonderfully to get the better of the opposition on most occasions? So why is he not able to mask it now ?

Well, it’s time we stop bothering him about his age and reaction-time. His reflexes are far better than those of the youngsters, who wet their pants at the thought of being targeted with some ‘chin-music’ and get out to a spinner in trying to get some freebies while they can, during their stint in the middle. Let Sachin play the rest of his games like what he did on his first tour with the “Mein khelega” attitude that he developed after being hit on his nose by a Younis  bouncer in 1989. Allow him to flow, give him the license to kill .It’s  high time we surrender our “license to kill” (the God of cricket ) and let him enjoy his game.

So, who wants to be Sachin ? …Anyone? Anyone at all ???

Be it a Brian Lara whose exaggerated back-lift exposed him to yorkers and LBW situations, a Steve Waugh whose  initial movement made him a ‘sitting-duck’ for bouncers, our very own Sourav Ganguly who struggled with rib-ticklers, or the little master, who even to this day gets cleaned up with the incoming deliveries off-length – these are players who had their own share of struggles when it came to  their batting technique. At this juncture, it is worthy to make a mention of the mental aspect of the game and the importance of strategies that saw these men climb the ranks in the revered version of the game.

Steve Waugh who was constantly made to jump around in his crease throughout his career, managed to score 10,927 test runs and steer Australia into its golden era of cricket. So how did he do it?

Waugh’s strategy was simple, but certainly not  for the faint hearted. In his mind, he had reached a level of acceptance where he considered the hits to his body as a part of the game and readily took a few blows. At times, he would sledge the quicks on tricky pitches and provoke then to bowl bouncers. In the process of terrorizing ’tugga’ Waugh, the bowlers would bang it in short, than pitching it in the areas which were more likely to fetch his wicket.

He would grind his teeth and hang on till the bowlers were drained. Later, he would pounce on every bad delivery, making sure every blow he got was accounted for. Now, that’s called “The nerves of steel” strategy, which is surely not everyone’s cuppa. The famous battle between Curtley Ambrose “The terror” and Steve Waugh during the Third Test at Trinidad in 2005, is well documented.

The innings that Sachin Tendulkar played at SCG in 2003 highlighted the quality of abstinence. At one point in time, there was nobody who could play the cover-drive in international cricket as well as Tendulkar, but this time, it was while trying to play the same ‘cover-drive’ that he was being dismissed often. There was something amiss and Sachin was sharp enough to detect this. Then came the innings at SCG where he got to his century without playing a single cover drive. “The abstainence strategy” worked well for Sachin who got 241 runs in that innings, the maestro digging himself out of a hole yet again.

We have seen a lot of tail-enders win matches for their sides by way of simple strategies and plans. The role of the tail during the 2005 Ashes proved the fact that batting was more about application than perfect technique. Many a times, it’s the tail that has wagged to deny victory to the opposition, sometimes taking the match to the death and on occasions snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. How else would you expect a Brett Lee, Kasparowicz, Monty Panesar, Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Gillespie and the gritty tail-end fraternity to come up with rock-solid resistence and save/win matches for their sides? Obviously, they did not spend a lot of time on their batting at the nets.

Application, grit and immense belief in one’s strategy seems to be the bottom line.There is a lot to be learned from all these players. Talented ones like Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh from India and many other talents who have been struggling for a place in  the Indian test team can take some heart from these instances. They should look at strategies that suits their game/personalities the best and make a mark in the longer version of the game and guide India to the top spot in the world rankings.

Similar innings involving perfect execution of a solid strategy have been demonstrated by many players, time and again. It’s pretty clear that if you want the top spot in international cricket, you have to be a brave-heart, a wily-fox or a saint with immense patience who never gives in to temptation. It’s alright if the strategies turn out to look ugly as long as you deliver the goods.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/04/for-the-brave-lion-the-wily-fox-and-the-patient-saint/feed/ 2 24071 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/03/its-rainaing-bouncers/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/03/its-rainaing-bouncers/#comments Mon, 03 Sep 2012 11:12:21 +0000 ameetsn http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=681877

The credits in the name of the Indian cricket team are aplenty. From being the  World champs at the senior level (current ODI champions and winners  in 1983 and  T20 champs in 2007)  to being the World champions on three occasions at the junior level ( u-19) and also being ranked no.1 in Test matches in December 2009, they seem to have -been there and done that, with  almost everything that is connected to the game, yet there is a sense of emptiness in  Indian Cricket ,when it comes to test cricket.

While ‘ Team India’  did manage to reach the top in the test rankings, they soon found out how tough it was to retain the crown for a  longer time, when they lost it to England in July 2011. With the exit of  senior cricketers like Anil Kumble, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman from the Indian team, a feeling of panic has set in, especially with regard to India’s future in Test Cricket.

In this backdrop it is worthy to discuss the option of including youngsters in the senior Indian team, especially those  from the   India-U-19 side  that recently won the World Cup in Australia.

It’s indeed a healthy trend that the youngsters are doing well and staking a claim in the senior side, but how far is this realistic is the question. Unless of course it is a teen-Sachin re-incarnate, it wouldn’t be a wise decision to push these youngsters into roles that they are probably not ready for.

Cricket at the under-19 level can definitely give us a glimpse of  a player’s temperament, but on the flip-side  it can also mask a few deficiencies in his technique. It would be important for us to understand that even physically, most of  these players are yet to reach their peak in terms of strength and stamina, particularly the medium-pacers.

A medium- pacer in Sandeep Sharma,who bowls beautiful in-swingers at 127 kmph might develop into a fast-bowler who hurls the same in-swingers at 137kmph in 18 month’s time and prove more effective. A dedicated approach by the board to focus on the physical and mental conditioning of these young pacers for the next one year might see us producing at least two world class pacers by the end of 2013. It will be more meaningful than just getting them in while they are raw and clueless. If these boys do not perform well or get injured owing to their lack of strength, then their confidence will take a severe beating. Even with regard to the batsmen, the peaking-age is around 24-30 yrs. The administrators should focus on grooming this talented bunch in physical, technical and psychological aspects of the game.

However another aspect is the importance of playing the Ranji Trophy and performing in the ‘A -Team’ tours. It’s an ideal platform to gauge the temperament of a player as it is played on challenging surfaces and over longer periods of time. Overseas tours against other ‘A’ teams will see the boys being separated from the men. The age factor is negated, the cream of talent are pitted against each other and only the best will come good. Also it will familiarise the boys to foreign conditions and finally if/when they make their debut overseas, the pressure will be much less than what will be on someone who is totally alien to these conditions.

Take  the case of Virat kohli  who rose to fame when India won the u-19 world cup the second time in 2008 . Virat made his first class debut in 2006 and played a good lot of domestic games before making it to the national team for the ODI’S  in 2008. However his Test debut was  only in 2011 , a good 4 years after his success at the under-19 level. This four year period ensured that Virat got a lot of exposure at the Ranji level and also saw him  get runs at the “Emerging Players’ Trophy” in Australia for the India ‘A’ team. As such, he was able to prepare and adapt himself better for the Australian tour in 2011 as he exactly knew what it takes to get runs on aussie pitches against senior sides.

It’s obvious that no matter how well you score in an IPL game, on the flat Indian pitches, it’s the success in overseas conditions and the long hours of batting on the tricky last day Ranji Trophy pitches that will ultimately tailor a prospective player into ‘test-match’ material.

The relatively smooth transition of Virat ‘the wonder kid’ to ‘Virat the finisher’ was mainly due to sorting of issues regarding technique (especially against the short balls that are bowled aplenty at the highest level) and temperament. These four years of invaluable exposure had given Virat all the time in the world to mould himself into a better player. He soon realised that quick fire thirties and forties just don’t do the job at the Test level. It’s a matter of grinding it out in the middle , it’s about assessing the game from session to session and playing accordingly. This steady climb to the top gave enough time  to make mistakes, realise them, work on them and finally become a dependable middle-order batsman even at the test level.

Also, there have been many players like  Badrinath, Robin Bisht, Abhinav Mukund, Manoj Tiwari, K.P Appanna, A.Rahane and many more such youngsters who have been consistently performing at the Ranji Trophy and “A” team levels. As such, it would only be fair to let the young guns of the under-19s make their way to the national side by performing at the various levels, thereby competing with the relatively older players (performers) on an even plain. Even the opinion of veteran Indian cricketer and former Chairman of the national selection committee, Mr. Chandu Borde, is on similar lines.

India has definitely never been short of talented players. All we need to do is to ensure that we put in place a system that recognises talent irrespective of any other factor and grooms them into world-class acts, who can ensure us a longer stay at the top of the test rankings in future.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/08/30/the-road-to-no-1-test-ranking/feed/ 1 163818 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/08/29/chandu-borde-interview-pujara-has-the-right-temperament-to-fill-in-dravids-shoes/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/08/29/chandu-borde-interview-pujara-has-the-right-temperament-to-fill-in-dravids-shoes/#comments Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:11:14 +0000 ameetsn http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=660734

If at all there is someone who has lived up to his name as an all-rounder both on and off the field in Indian cricket, it’s none other than Chandrakant Gulabrao Borde, better known as Chandu Borde in Indian cricketing circles. Where else can you find a man who has been associated with Indian cricket as a Test player, Test captain, National selection committee chairman, team manager, pitch curator and a mentor? Mr. Borde played 55 test matches for India between 1958-1969, scoring more than 3000 runs and taking 52 wickets in as many matches.

The multi-dimensional career of Mr. Borde puts a huge amount of experience behind him. He is one man who can offer credible thoughts and predictions about the future of Indian cricket, given the fact that he has seen  Indian cricket from all possible angles. It was indeed a pleasure for the Sportskeeda team to get to have a chat with this soft-spoken gentleman, who happened to be in Bangalore for the inaugural function of the Global Indian International School and the Chandu Borde Cricket Academy. He was present there in the capacity of the Vice-president of the Global School Foundation.

Following are the excerpts from the interview with Mr. Borde, during which he reflected his views on Indian cricket, the various eras and his experiences:

Now that you have been associated with the educational sector for a decade too, looking back in time, which role have you enjoyed the most?

Of course, it’s the cricket-player’s role! Playing alongside great players like Subhash Gupte and many other distinguished Indian cricketers and playing against greats like Sir Gary Sobers, Laker, Truman and many more top cricketers of my time, has given me immense satisfaction. I feel honoured to have played with them.

You have played so many roles in Indian Cricket, to add to this you were also an all-rounder on the field. What are your thoughts about your contribution to Indian cricket ?

According to me, there are three eras in Indian cricket. The (Vijay) Hazare era, the Gavaskar era and the Tendulkar era. I was a player in the Hazare era, a selector in the Gavaskar era and a team manager in the Tendulkar era. I have had my presence in all three generations.

Who was your idol in your playing days ?

I styled my batting on Vijay Hazare, he was my idol .

Can India find suitable replacements for Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman?

Their contribution to Indian cricket is tremendous. But there is always somebody to take over from the seniors. History is the proof. It’s very important to have bench strength and India has got a very good bench strength. I am impressed with Pujara.

Gundappa Vishwanath filled in your shoes and history has it that he has done a great job of it. Do you think Cheteshwar Pujara can do a ‘Gundappa Vishwanath’ w.r.t. filling in Dravid’s shoes?

Pujara has the right temperament and technique. His approach to the game is very good, he has got triple centuries at the domestic level and is prepared to have a long stay at the wicket, which is the key. Unfortunately, he was out of the game due to injury after getting a good start. But now he is back and the hundred that he got is going to give him the confidence to do the ‘tough job’ of filling in Rahul’s ‘big’ shoes.

Sir, who is your all-time best player?

It will be unfair to single-out one player out of the many greats that the game has witnessed.

Do you feel that the players from the victorious Under-19 team should be given a place in the senior side?

It’s good to see talent. Let them perform and climb up the various levels of domestic cricket. After all, there are other players who have been performing at the First-class level for many seasons and are waiting for a chance too. It will be fair to everybody.

What is your view on integration of sports with education?

Look, we have observed how school children finish their daily schooling routine and slump in front of the TV and computers. This is very unhealthy for their overall development. When you have sports in the curriculum, students become more active and fit, thereby making them more receptive to studies and academics. Bangalore boys like Dravid and Kumble are the best examples of the outcome of the combination of sport and education. Today they are able to take up huge responsibilities efficiently even after their playing days.

Can you give us more details about the Chandu Borde Cricket Academy at the Global Indian International School, Bangalore ?

I have been with the Global School Foundation for the past decade . The Chandu Borde Cricket Academy will be focusing on nurturing the young cricket talent at GIIS. We will be imparting coaching at the cricket ground situated within the GIIS Whitefield campus. Also, I have got in touch with the concerned authorities in Karnataka to help us in preparing a good wicket at this ground. I have immense belief in the cricketing talent of Bangalore, given its rich history of being able to produce world-class players every now and then. As such we should be able to produce more such talents from Bangalore in the future.

The Aussies however had done a good job in posting a healthy total of 225 in their batting stint. Captain Bosisto and Travis Head who stitched a timely  65 run partnership made sure that the team waded out of rough waters when they were reduced to 38/4 , courtesy – a superb bowling display by the ever-reliable Sandeep Sharma who was ably supported by R.Singh and Baba Aparajith.
Taking advantage of a dropped catch (not too easy) by AD Nath at gully early in his innings, Travis Head who was watchful initially, took a liking  to Passi and  Ravikanth Singh’s bowling ,carting them to the fence at least once every over. It was the typical Aussie ” attack is the best form of defence” attitude that the batsmen displayed , until Harmeet Singh put some brakes on the scoring rate. It was in fact Harmeet who fielded the ball diving to his left at short square, and threw it to the non-striker’s end to effect Travis’ run -out.  A crucial break , especially when Head was slowly making  some headway into upping the run  rate.

With captain Bosisto and Ashley Turner in the middle and Australia reduced to 103/5 in 30 overs, it  looked like  they would struggle to make it to even 200. However, the Aussie captain and “Man Of The Series”, their crisis man through out this tournament, who interestingly has got out only on one occasion during the entire World Cup , stood up to the occasion yet again, getting to his fifty from a watchful 94 balls. Turner who made a valuable 43 of 63 balls had a major role in the 6th wicket partnership of 93 runs.

At every stage where the pair of  Bosisto and Turner looked like getting off the hook , Sandeep Sharma , Baba Aparajith and Harmeet Singh ensured that they bowled tight and gave nothing away. Australia  reached  a fighting total of 225 in their 50 overs losing 8 wickets, given that 190 was the highest ever first innings total at Tony Ireland ground. Bosisto remained unbeaten on a heroic 87(120 balls)

For India P.Chopra started the innings watchfully but was caught down the leg in Stekette’s bowling in the second over. In came the ever-cool  Baba Aparajith who suddenly got amongst the boundaries and sent out an “All is well” signal to his mates back in the pavilion. Baba and Chand put together a 73 run partnership , with both men  rubbing some positive attitude on each other while maintaining a healthy run rate. Baba got out in the 15th over to Sandhu ,and as it always happens after a good partnership there was a slight collapse in the middle order with Vihari and Zol being cleaned up by the time an addition of just 15 runs could be made to the total .

The ghosts of the collapses in the recent past were hard to ignore when Smit Patel walked into bat  instead of AD Nath,owing to the latter’s lack of form in this tournament ,with India needing another 128 runs for victory in nearly 25 overs . The pressure was obvious when Patel missed while  trying  a rash shot initially. If there was a moment to define ” captain’s awareness and efficiency”, it was this one . Chand, the skipper at the other end gestured Patel to keep his cool and pepped him up a bit when he sensed that his mate was under some pressure. He instilled in him some confidence and Smit Patel was a different player from then- on in the innings. Chand exhibited his uncanny knack of hitting the big sixes every time India needed a boost to their scoring rate.

Unmukt Chand and Patel planned their innings meticulously. They had a clear strategy with well timed aggression and consolidation, depending on the need of the hour. Australia lost all their hopes when Chand ,who was at one stage dealing in sixes, was dropped by Captain Bosisto at mid-wicket on 84. From there on, there was no one stopping the Indian skipper, who blasted 6 sixes in his unbeaten knock of 111 in 130 balls with seven boundaries.
Smit Patel played the innings of his life getting to an unbeaten  62 in 84 balls with four hits to the fence. It was an innings of immense maturity( barring the one rash attempt) which deservingly culminated in a slog hit to the fence of Turner’s bowling, thereby helping India lay it hands on the ICC U-19 World Cup for a third time in cricket history. It was as if India wanted to stamp their authority , finishing the match with 14 balls remaining and six wickets in hand.

It was indeed a sight to behold, the cheering of the fans and the members of the Indian team celebrating on Aussie soil  with the Indian-Tricolour  in their hands. India has its newest batch of heroes now , long live the sport.

The much awaited final of the Under-19 world Cup will be underway on Sunday, the 26th of August at Townsville. It’s the hosts Australia who meet India at the tricky Tony Ireland stadium. Even the old lady who passes by the Tony Ireland ground during her regular evening stroll will tell you that whichever team is going to win the toss is going to bowl first. The notorious (as it has been made out to be in the follow-up to the finals) wicket has made sure that the batsmen work hard for each run and has given them absolutely no margin for error, resulting in many low-scoring affairs up till now.

However, the pitch has been fair to the bowlers in both the innings, and has given ample opportunities for teams to stage come-backs from near oblivion. It’s a matter of self-belief while playing on these tracks. The seaming conditions is bound to get the batsmen beaten time and again, but it would be wise on the part of batting teams to set themselves realistic targets.

Any ambitious move to get unrealistic targets would probably see the entire team back in the hut well within their allotted 50 overs. Going by the previous results, a team that can put up a score of around 230-250 should fancy themselves a good chance of winning the game. It’s worthy to reiterate the fact that it’s all about grit. The pitch has shown that it favours the men who are prepared to grind it out in the middle, Prashanth Chopra and Baba Aparajith being prime examples for India.

A few batsmen from both teams, on various occasions on the same ground have got to their half centuries and seen their teams post decent totals that have proven to be match winning. However, it’s no cake walk for the bowlers, especially the spinners.

We have seen A.J.Turner and Harmeet  Singh do well for their respective teams, but it would be imperative for the spinners to look at keeping it tight at one end and building the pressure while not getting too aggressive. So far the bowling units have worked well and supported the strike bowlers by some neat and tight bowling. It’s been an ‘out and out’ pacers tournament this and the final match doesn’t seem to look any different.

Everybody in the batting order seems to have chipped in during one occasion or the other on both sides barring some exceptions. Chopra, Chand, Aparajith and Zol have all come good for India while Bankroft, Patterson and captain Bosisto have done the job for the Aussies. The pace trio of Sandhu, Skeete and Paris have been the backbone of the Aussie attack and are surely not going to give even a inch to the Indian top order. The same can be said of Passi, Sharma and R.Singh who seem to mirror the Aussie attack although they have proven their worth by  defending very low targets for India.

The Aussies have so far been undefeated in this tournament while the Indians have beaten them in the recently concluded Quadrangular tournament. It’s to be seen who is fit enough to survive the battle of the best. It’s definitely going to be the match of the year and you can be sure of seeing some of these young guns earning their places in  their national teams in the near future.

With India losing Gautam Gambhir early in the first hour’s play, all eyes were on young Cheteshwar Pujara, who walked into the middle on a hot day in Hyderabad. He was coming in at number 3, the position until recently held by none other than the Great wall of India, Rahul Dravid, for nearly 15 years of International cricket. There was no devil in the pitch, nor did the opposition look menacing, but it was the very occasion that generated so much pressure, the pressure of living up to the expectations, the pressure to maintain the high bench-marks set by the magical Laxman and the laborious Dravid.

The stance, the poise and the intensity in the eyes were unmistakably similar to Dravid. In fact, the resemblance to Dravid went down to even the bat maker’s name. Well, we had our Rahul “body-double” in the middle. On one occasion, when Pujara lunged forward and played a cover drive boundary to the pacer, one could  swear that it was indeed Dravid who was batting in the middle and not some rookie. If anything was to be taken as an announcement of his arrival on the scene, it was this particular cover drive from Pujara that made every Indian sit up and wonder if he was the next “Dravid” on the scene. One big question that still lingered in everybody’s mind was whether he could match his temperament with that of the legend?

Pujara dispelled all doubts whatsoever about his temperament with a patient 119 (224 balls, 15 boundaries, 1 six)  , remaining not out at the end of day’s play and guiding India to a healthy 307/5  at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. This lad, who is known to bat for long durations in the domestic circuit, renewed India’s hopes of  finding its next number 3 in the Test line up. It was indeed heartening to see him accumulating runs in the typical old-school-Dravid style, wearing the bowling attack down and waiting for the bowler to make the mistakes.

The “waiting-game”  was Dravid’s legacy and today it was Pujara who carried it on to the next generation. It is interesting to wait and watch if the other members of the Indian team, the seniors as well as the juniors, take a leaf out of his book. Ultimately, it’s the time factor that can help in salvaging  a draw in any test match, it’s the time factor that ensures that the team batting next gets a deteriorating wicket, it’s the single most important factor that makes Test cricket the real “test”.

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